A blanket of ice and snow had thousands spending the night in their cars and students on buses.

The Whitefish Bay band was on its way back to Wisconsin from a performance at Epcot Center in Florida when the storm hit.

That's when the band leaders made the decision to find shelter in a hotel.

"You know, if it's bad weather there's so much that could go wrong. We could slip off the road, and that's never a good thing. They chose safety over convenience, which I think is quite important," student Tyler Lee said.

WISN 12 News' Craig McKee spoke with the band's director Wednesday night who confirmed the charter bus company plans to drive through the night to get home.

They will switch out drivers every four hours and expect to arrive home in the morning.